Tag Archives: team

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

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Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Panorama of early morning sun illuminating hills in lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon with Death Valley beyond – Death Valley National Park, California.

This is a view of Death Valley that I did not know about until I shot in Twenty Mule Team Canyon last week. As I was working on photographing the nearby folded formations of the earth I happened to look down-canyon in time to see this wonderful light hitting the tops of the hills at the lower portion of the canyon with the rest of Death Valley and the Panamint Range beyond. This photograph is a stitch of two 21MP photographs from the 5DII. Although I exposed them differently I was able to compensate in post and I think the blend is pretty seamless.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: sunrise, dawn, morning, light, illuminate, hills, formations, geology, 20, twenty, mule, team, canyon, lower, death valley, national park, california, usa, panorama, wide, salt, flats, panamint, mountain, range, sky, shadow, vista, landscape, scenic, travel, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

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Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A gravel road winds through the curved hills of Twenty Mule Team Canyon in early morning light, Death Valley National Park, California.

I had never visited Twenty Mule Team Canyon (located just up the road from Zabriskie Point) before this trip, but thanks to Edie Howe’s recommendation I spent an early morning shooting there on this trip. Except for the lack of a single dominant feature like Manley Point, in some ways this little loop has as much or more to offer than Zabriskie Point. Many of the same curved and twisted landscape features are found here, and there is even a wonderful early morning view down across low hills and peaks into the heart of Death Valley itself. In this photograph the early morning light is hitting what is, to be honest, a mud hill near a curve in the gravel road that passes through the canyon.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: road, dirt, gravel, turn, curve, berm, bank, 20, twenty, mule, team, canyon, death valley, national park, california, usa, hill, mud, wash, morning, light, golden, fold, scenic, travel, stock, nature, landscape, geology

Photographs: People, Photographs: Sports

Floyd Landis, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

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Floyd Landis, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Floyd Landis, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

(See more of my 2009 Tour of California photos.)

Ouch Team rider Floyd Landis warms up on the course for the prologue stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California bicycle race in Sacramento, California.

This photograph was made during the warm up period an hour or so before the start of the prologue time trial of the Tour of California in Sacramento, California. I picked a corner with good angles and good light and had a chance to shoot many of the competitors as they came though this second of two closely-spaced turns. Floyd Landis is a bit of a controversial figure in professional cycling – he is either a “bad boy” or a victim, depending upon your point of view. Landis won, in what seemed like heroic fashion, the Tour of France a few years ago – only to be disqualified after doping charges which he fought vociferously and publicly. In the end he lost his yellow jersey in the tour and was suspended from cycling for a period… and he also had orthopedic surgery on his damaged hip. Now he is back, and it will be very interesting to see what he can accomplish.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: floyd, landis, team, ouch, red, black, white, prologue, time trial, warm up, course, amgen, 2009, tour, of, california, pro, professional, bicycle, bike, race, road, stage, lean, crouch, turn, course, sacramento, usa, sports, stock

Photographs: People, Photographs: Sports

George Hincapie, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

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George Hincapie, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

George Hincapie, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Team Highroad rider George Hincapie rides the prologue time trial course before the start of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California in Sacramento, California.

I’ve written before that the time trial stages provide some of the best bicycle racing photographic opportunities. During the race itself the riders come by one by one, so it is much easier to spot and photograph them. In addition, you can often find a good spot on the course and set up an effective shot – riders slowing down as then come through a turn and facing you as they exit for example. But there are also many opportunities before and after the actual race. This photograph is among quite a few I made during the hour or so before the start of the race when the competitors ride the course several times and usually individually or in small groups of two or three. Not only is it easier to spot and photograph them, but the crowds that come later are often still yet to arrive.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: george, hincapie, columbia, professional, pro, bicycle, bike, race, racing, team, prologue, time trial, stage, road, highroad, dark glasses, beanie, stocking cap, bokeh, warm up, amgen, 2009, tour, of, california, sports, bottle, water, pocket, stock